Brewster Mountain Lodge — Hotel in Banff

I recently stayed here for the 1st time, having been a frequent visitor to Banff and Canmore and I would return to stay here again. The hotel is located a block from Banff Avenue (the main road where hordes of visitors congregate) and so is somewhat less hectic but in the midst of it all and an easy walk pretty much anywhere - super close to restaurants, bars and equipment rentals. Gourlays Pharmacy is down the block when you need cough medicine. Our room on the 2nd floor faced Caribou St and was comfortable and well arranged. Earplugs were provided on the bedside tables and, if you have ever lived in a college town, the reason became obvious at night. Throngs of tipsy people would be wandering up and down Caribou Street, laughing and talking loudly. Next, the hotel has a funky floorplan that I thought was drawn by a drunk architect, but is actually because the hotel was cobbled together from 3 adjacent buildings, so it's commonplace to go down a hallway, up several steps, down several steps and so on. I think that Realtors call this "charming". Getting to the breakfast room (continental breakfast included) is a voyage, starting on th 2nd floor, going to the back "past Room 206" down the back stairs to the basement, passing the garage and then finding the ramp to the breakfast area. Again, remember this is repurposed from 3 buildings and then it starts to make sense. If you have limited mobility, then be aware that you get to the breakfast room by taking the elevater down into the parking garage and then navigating your way from there. Parking Tip - the Bear Street Parkade is 1/2 a block away and offers free parking for 8 or 10 hours (essentially overnight) - you may need to move your vehicle if you park longer. Overall, I liked the hotel and feel that the positives outweighed several of the "charming" features and will stay here again. BTW, I would have put the arrows on the Lobby chandelier facing upwards rather than downwards, but...

We love how this hotel is centrally located to everything, park your car & walk everywhere in Banff. The parade clearance is 6’4”, our truck is 6’6”, so we parked for free in the nearby parkade, we were able to pull in front of the hotel (2 vehicles would probably fit), to unload. I love the attention to detail when I was checking in. We were hungry & tired from the trip & (I’ve never seen this in any hotel before), they had fresh baked, individually wrapped cookies for guests. This is a unique & thoughtful action on behalf of the management & it was appreciated. We were greeted by Georgia, a lovely young lady, friendly & multitasking between our check in & the phone & other guests, she helped us feel welcomed & answered all our questions. The loft room is spacious, clean & comfortable with a cozy king-size bed. We stayed in the loft room (3rd floor, room 315) and it was quite on a Thursday night & had a nice big balcony with a couple chairs facing a walking street. The corner suite is #316 for future information, but I don’t think anyone was beside us, we didn’t hear anything if there was someone there. 2 TV’s, one up & one down, a mini fridge & cosy housecoats. On the downside, our bathroom sink was draining slowly (possibly management doesn’t know), & I would have liked to see an extra Kleenex box by the bed upstairs, but these are minor issues for the fantastic price we paid, staying in central Banff. There is a deep jetted tub in the loft suite I stayed in as well. We will definitely be back. I’m a Calgary local & have tried several hotels here, & we usually stay up by tunnel mountain, we tried something different & I’m happy we did. This is a central Gem hotel, with a free amazing breakfast (not continental), delivered to your room in the morning, & thoughtfully prepared. I can tell the management actually care about their guests & the...

In the center of Banff, the Brewster's Mountain Lodge is an expensive hotel, without some of the basic necessities. The location is truly amazing, as it is right in the middle of Banff's downtown. It is close to multiple high rated restaurants and also close to the main street. The rooms are clean, beds are comfortable there's free breakfast and the service is good, but thats where all the good news ends. The price is very high, yet the hotel CHARGES EXTRA for parking. All of the public parking in Banff is free, and there is a parkade right next to the hotel. This is outrageous, parking should have been free or already included in the high price tag, but it isn't. The rooms lack some basic amenities such as a mini fridge and air conditioning. Even $100 hotels have both, yet this $350 hotel has neither. It gets very hot during the summer time in the hotel room (~25 degrees Celsius) but they don't have air conditioning for the rooms, just the lobby. They provide a fan though. The furniture in the room is quite old, but it fits the rustic feel of the hotel. The bathroom is pretty old and should be updated because of the high price. The free breakfast is mediocre because they only provide bread, cereal, 1 type of yogurt, some fruit, coffee and juice. But it's free. Overall, the hotel is overpriced just because of its good location. However, the location is amazing, and if you want a place with a good location, then this will be a decent hotel for you. If location isn't important, then I suggest you look elsewhere. Dates stayed July 2-3...